Shelmerdine Garden Center

What Shelmerdine Garden Center does

Shelmerdine Garden Center is a privately held, single-location garden center and lifestyle retailer operating from an 80-acre site at 7800 Roblin Boulevard in Headingley, Manitoba, founded in 1937 by Walter Shelmerdine. The company serves Manitoba consumers with an integrated offering that combines an on-site greenhouse production facility, one of the province's largest retail garden centers, a boutique carrying home décor and fashion, and a portfolio of fee-for-service lines including tree and shrub planting, fountain installation, professional photography venue rental, and regional delivery starting at $35. Customer segments are predominantly individual homeowners and gardening hobbyists in the Winnipeg metro and surrounding region, with secondary audiences in home décor shoppers, photography clients, and families participating in the Lil Growers Club and seasonal events such as the annual Fall Market.

The core technology is the NetPS Plant Library and Plant Finder, a searchable online database that allows customers to filter plants by attributes such as height, spread, foliage type, sun and soil requirements, and to build pre-visit shopping lists; the company also operates a content blog (The Shelmerdine Journal) and an active email and Instagram presence. E-commerce is in an early stage, with a current online shop for select products and gift cards and indoor plants noted as a forthcoming category. The proprietary technology footprint is light and consumer-facing rather than platform-oriented, and there are no disclosed AI, app, SDK, or integration capabilities.

The business model is multi-stream retail and services revenue earned almost entirely within Manitoba. Core revenue is generated through one-time plant and merchandise sales, supplemented by professional services (planting with one- or five-year warranty options, fountain installation, delivery, photography venue rental) and event-driven income from workshops, the Fall Market, and community programming. Pricing is opaque at the product level but transparent on services, with delivery fees starting at $35 based on postal code proximity and planting/installation fees tied to scope, weight, and labor. Distribution is primarily through the physical storefront with regional delivery and a nascent online channel; the company is co-owned by Matt Bell (CEO) and Chad Labbe (COO) with no institutional investment, parent company, or public listing.

Name

Shelmerdine Garden Center

Legal name

Shelmerdine Garden Center Ltd.

Website

https://shelmerdine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Shelmerdine Garden Center is a privately held, single-location garden center and lifestyle retailer in Headingley, Manitoba, founded in 1937, serving Manitoba consumers with plants, greenhouse production, home décor and fashion boutique, and professional planting, fountain, delivery, and photography venue services on an 80-acre site.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Garden Center Retail

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Landscaping Services (561730), Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200), Retail-Home Furniture, Furnishings & Equipment Stores (5700), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Plants, Seeds & Nursery Retail (Garden Centers) (CRAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Garden Bed Installation & Planting (Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs) (HSAIAFAB), Seasonal Color, Planting & Horticultural Services (BPABADAL)

Keywords

• Garden center retail
• Greenhouse plant production
• Landscape installation services
• Home decor boutique
• Photography venue rental

Headquarters

HQ city

Winnipeg

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Plant Sales: Sale of indoor plants, outdoor plants, trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, herbs, and seasonal plants through their garden center retail location and greenhouse production facility.
2. Home Décor and Fashion: Sale of home décor items and fashion accessories through their boutique.
3. Tree and Shrub Planting Services: Professional planting service including digging holes, soil installation, staking, and wiring. Includes 1-year warranty or 5-year warranty with Myke Tree and Shrub additive.
4. Fountain Installation Services: Complete fountain and statuary delivery and installation including limestone pad, concrete slabs, assembly, and water filling. Fees based on weight, intricacy, and number of installers.
5. Photography Venue Rental: Rental of greenhouse and garden center spaces for professional photography sessions including weddings, engagements, portfolios, brand photos, and gender reveals. Requires advance booking and may involve a fee.
6. Delivery Services: Professional delivery service for plants and products in Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Delivery fees start at $35 based on proximity to location.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Shelmerdine Garden Center operates one of Manitoba's largest retail garden centres out of an 80-acre greenhouse production facility in Headingley, selling an extensive range of plants (trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, houseplants, roses, herbs) alongside home décor, fashion, and gift cards. The company complements plant retail with paid professional services including tree and shrub planting with warranty options, complete fountain and statuary installation, in-house delivery, expert horticultural advice, and greenhouse/garden photography venue rentals.

Product overview

Shelmerdine Garden Center is a traditional garden center and retail operation offering a comprehensive range of plant material and gardening services. The company operates one of Manitoba's largest garden centers with its own greenhouse production facility. The core product offering centers on an extensive plant library including trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, houseplants, roses, and herbs. Services include professional tree and shrub planting, fountain installation, photography venue rental, expert horticultural advice, and delivery. The company also runs seasonal events including the Fall Market, workshops, and the Lil Growers Club for children. Gift cards round out the retail offerings. This is a single-location retail business with no platform architecture or modular product structure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plants & Plant Material Extensive retail selection of plants including trees (deciduous, evergreen, flowering, coniferous), shrubs, perennials, annuals, houseplants, roses, ground covers, vines, ferns, ornamental grasses, small fruits, berries, and herbs, sold at the garden centre and supplemented by the online Plant Finder tool for pre-visit selection.
• Home Décor and Fashion Curated boutique assortment of home décor items, seasonal goods, and fashion accessories sold alongside plants at the Shelmerdine garden centre, including items governed by a separate fashion exchange policy.
• Gift Cards Shelmerdine gift cards available for purchase at the garden centre for gifting to gardening, décor, and fashion enthusiasts; non-refundable, non-exchangeable, and non-replaceable if lost or stolen.
• Tree and Shrub Planting Services Professional planting service for trees and shrubs including digging holes, removing old fill, installing plants with Shelmerdine Outdoor Planting Soil, staking and wiring trees; comes with a 1-year warranty, extendable to a 5-year warranty with the purchase of Myke Tree and Shrub. Fees do not include removal of existing plants or stumps.
• Fountain and Statuary Installation Services Complete delivery and installation service for fountains and statuary including limestone pad laying, concrete slab installation for leveling, full assembly, water filling, and performance adjustment. Service fees are based on the weight and intricacy of the fountain/statuary and the number of installers required.
• Photography Venue Services Rental of Shelmerdine's greenhouse and garden centre spaces as a photography venue for professional and semi-professional photo shoots. Suitable use cases include wedding photography, engagement sessions, portfolio shoots, brand photos, and gender-reveal photography surrounded by plants.
• Delivery Services Professional delivery service for plants and products in Winnipeg and surrounding areas, available Monday through Saturday with morning or afternoon time slots. Delivery fees start at $35 and are based on the customer's postal-code proximity to the store rather than order size; the base fee covers one delivery person, with additional charges for two-person deliveries.
• Events and Workshops (including Fall Market) Seasonal in-person events and workshops hosted at the garden centre, including the annual Fall Market featuring local makers and small businesses (with annual vendor applications), gardening and lifestyle workshops, private events, and the children's Lil Growers Club educational gardening program.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Geller's Design | Build | LandscapecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Shelmerdine formed a new partnership with Geller's Design | Build | Landscape, reopening landscape installations as a service offering. This partnership between current owners Matt Bell and Chad Labbe with Geller's Design | Build | Landscape brings together retail garden center operations with landscape design and installation services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lowe's Canada: Lowe's is a North American big-box home improvement retailer with garden centres offering plants, tools, and outdoor supplies; its Canadian operations overlap with Shelmerdine's plant and outdoor living categories.
• Home Depot Canada: Home Depot is a national big-box home improvement retailer whose garden centre departments compete with Shelmerdine on commodity plants, soil, and garden supplies at scale, applying significant pricing pressure across the category.
• Canadian Tire: Canadian Tire is a Canadian mass-market retailer with broad garden, outdoor living, and seasonal plant assortments across its national store network, competing with Shelmerdine on convenience, price, and seasonal plant basics.
• RONA: RONA is a Canadian hardware and home improvement retailer with garden supply assortments across its dealer and corporate network, providing another broad-based competitive channel for garden products alongside independent centres like Shelmerdine.

Direct peers

• Sheridan Nurseries: Sheridan Nurseries is one of Canada's largest garden centre chains with multiple retail locations, greenhouse production, and landscape services — a scaled direct comparable in business model (retail plants + production + services) though operating in Ontario rather than Manitoba.
• Jensen's Nursery & Landscaping: Jensen's is a Winnipeg-area nursery and landscaping company offering plants, garden supplies, and landscape design/installation services, overlapping directly with Shelmerdine's plant retail and planting-services streams within the same Manitoba market.
• Lacoste Garden Centre: Lacoste is a family-owned independent garden center located just south of Winnipeg in St. Adolphe, Manitoba, directly competing with Shelmerdine for the same regional Manitoba homeowner and gardener customer base with similar plant, décor, and seasonal product offerings.
• St. Mary's Nursery & Garden Centre: St. Mary's is a Winnipeg-based garden centre and nursery offering plants, garden décor, and landscaping services, serving the same Manitoba homeowner segment with a comparable product mix and service offering.
• Pike Nurseries: Pike Nurseries is a multi-location specialty garden centre chain in the U.S. Southeast with similar retail plant focus, container gardening offerings, and workshop/event programming — directly comparable in customer experience and category focus.

Others

• Monrovia: Monrovia is a large U.S. wholesale nursery grower that produces branded plants sold through independent garden centres, representing both a potential upstream supplier/competitor to Shelmerdine's own greenhouse production and a channel partner through other retailers.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/shelmerdine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shelmerdine Garden Center